


Life in the Middle (Change your ways)

by maybejoy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Gen, Mark Lee (NCT)-centric, Mentioned NCT 127 Ensemble, NCT Dream Ensemble Are Best Friends, NCT Dream Ensemble-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybejoy/pseuds/maybejoy
Summary: “A gang? Us? We’re just a group of juvenile delinquents.”A no-romance story based on NCT Dream's 'GO.'
Comments: 5
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

In a small and dusty room, there were six teenagers. One held an ancient smartphone on which a poorly edited fails compilation was playing. The others crowded around him to watch, dangling off of squashed couch cushions and ignoring his half-hearted complaints about how his arms ached from holding the phone up. Occasionally, they contributed their own laughs to the old-timey laugh track played after every fail. Little things like these could satisfy them. A mediocre Youtube video. An untorn pair of pants. A meal consisting of more than instant noodles. They were poor, thin, and never full, but in moments like these, they were happy. The afternoon sunlight shined through faded curtains, making the dust particles in the air visible, and in that moment they could have been mistaken for stars.

The moment was broken by a tap on the open window. A seventh teenager had been sitting on the narrow strip of roof in front of the window, and after catching his friends’ attention, he slid off, and using an extruding part of the first floor roof, landed on the dirt ground. Next to him were several large plastic bottles of water. The boy who had been holding the phone now put it down on the floor next to him. 

“Looks like Jisung’s back,” he said. As he spoke, two of his friends climbed out of the window and, with Jisung, relayed the bottles up to the room where the rest of them watched. When all of the bottles were safely passed into the little room, the three who had done the passing climbed back into the window. Jisung fell to the floor in a dramatic slump. One of the other two that had carried up the water, a brown-haired boy with large eyes and a white jacket, toed at Jisung’s crumpled form, smiling, before finding his place on the floor. The other, who was blonde and pale, laughed.

“What’s wrong with _you_ today, Jisung?” he said, still smiling. Jisung was silent until his pale friend shoved him across the floor. He finally sat up, making a noise of protest.

“Why do I always have to bring the water? It was so hot outside I thought I was going to die.” He lay back down. “I swear, stop pushing me Chenle.” Chenle pushed him again.

“Park Jisung, exaggerating again. Always? I brought in the water last week!”

“Well, I brought it in every single day this week, and we’re supposed to be alternating!”

“Yeah, but you’re doing it all this week, because you lost rock-paper-scissors!” At this, Jisung looked pleadingly at the other five, who were still watching. A thin, dark-haired boy shrugged.

“It was a fair game.” 

“Aw, Renjun hyung…” Jisung groaned. Chenle turned back to Jisung, his grin growing wider as he continued.

“ _And,_ Jaemin hyung and I helped you bring the water up, even though you’re supposed to do it yourself, just because we’re so nice. How could you have better friends than us?” He pulled Jisung upright, with some difficulty. 

“Whatever,” Jisung said, a trace of a smile on his lips. He turned to the bottles. “I’m gonna have some water.”

“While you’re at it,” said a tan boy sitting on the couch, “get some for me.” Jisung grumbled loudly as he unscrewed the top of a bottle. 

“Fricking Donghyuck hyung, always making me do stuff for him. Lazy little son of a…” The rant continued in his head as he drank. Donghyuck turned to the boy next to him with raised eyebrows and a mild expression. 

“My dear Mark hyung, it seems our Jisung is going through puberty.”

* * *

There was no concrete hierarchy within the group of friends, but Mark had the closest resemblance to authority among them. Perhaps it was because he was the oldest, or perhaps it was because he sometimes possessed the confident aura of a leader, but either way, he was utterly unprepared when, in the middle of a game of Mafia, Jisung asked if they were a gang.

“A gang? Us?” Jisung nodded. Next to him, Jeno quietly teased the abrupt nature of the question. Mark rubbed the back of his neck, not liking the association.

“Well, I…we’re more like...” Pause. “We’re just a group of juvenile delinquents.” He nodded to himself as he spoke. The others looked at him, and, deciding this line of conversation was more interesting than Mafia, started to contribute their own ideas.

“I mean, what’s the difference? If we were older, would we be considered a gang? Or if there were more of us?” Donghyuck asked.

“But we don’t kill people, and we don’t own motorcycles, and we’re not illegally rich. We just steal sometimes,” said Chenle.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what makes a gang a gang.”

“Why’d you ask, Jisung?”

“Don’t know, I was just thinking, Mafia is the name of a gang, right? So I was wondering if we were a gang, because we don’t have a group name, but I always thought we weren’t just a normal group of friends,” explained Jisung.

“I thought ‘mafia’ was a type of gang,” Chenle commented. He was ignored.

“Well, I don’t think we’re a gang,” Mark said, smiling, an idea rolling in his head. “but it would be nice for us to have a group name. Why don’t we make one?”

“I don’t know hyung, it doesn’t really seem-”

“What do you guys think about ‘NCT Dream?’” They blinked at him, their expressions ranging from confusion to flat-out disgust. “NCT stands for Non-Conforming Teenagers. Us. And our dream. How about it?”

“Mark hyung, honestly, I get it, but it just sounds so cringy,” said Renjun. Several of the others mumbled in agreement.

“Do we even have a dream?” Jaemin asked. 

“Sure we do,” said Mark. “Don’t you guys want to live well? Staying free from the rat race of society, just doing our own thing?” They nodded. “Enjoying life the way it was given to us, taking what we need or want without having to ask for permission or anything, that’s our dream. Right?”

“Right,” they said, their eyes starting to shine.

“And besides, do you really think our gang name will ever come up in real life? It’s not like we’re going to be on the news or become the Korean version of Mafia. It’ll just be a bit of fun between us.” They nodded again. Donghyuck rubbed his eyes.

“Goddamn it, Mark hyung, you’re persuasive. If you’d stayed in school you could’ve been a politician. Hell, you probably still could be.” The atmosphere lightened, they laughed, and by presumption, their name and their dreams were secured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovelies! i'm so sorry i'm just giving you guys the same revised content T_T  
> i promise chapter two is coming soon!  
> thank you guys for reading, remember to comment, and have a nice day ❤


	2. Chapter 2

Mark loved NCT Dream. He loved the way they bickered with each other, he loved how they took turns playing games on the two phones, he even loved how they made fun of him. Mark, like the other members, had found a home and a family in NCT Dream. And yet, he knew that he would be able to find happiness without them. He always had, for as long as he could remember. Before NCT Dream, he had found happiness with John, and before that, with his biological family. There was always someone or something that could give Mark motivation and happiness, and he knew it. Mark’s future was bleak due to his lack of education or connections, but because he believed in his own resourcefulness in finding joy, he refused to worry. He had been alive for almost twenty years already, and he was living just fine, so why wouldn’t he be fine in another twenty years? And another? And what if he wouldn’t be fine? Then what? _Then,_ Mark thought, _it’s too late anyways._

Mark saw life as a path. People like him were born without many choices. If there had been places to make decisions, he was already past them, and they had led him to a single line of life. He couldn’t see where or how the line ended, but it didn’t matter. Mark went straight through life on his path, and threw his future to fate.

* * *

Mark, Donghyuck, Jeno, and Renjun sat in the corner booth of an otherwise empty McDonald's, away from the employees’ eyes. On the table, there was a small pile of wallets. The four boys fidgeted under the table, waiting. They whipped around at the sound of the entrance bell, but it was only a group of schoolgirls who soon seated themselves far away from the boys. Renjun tapped his feet. They watched the glass doors with nervous anticipation, painfully aware of how slowly the minutes passed.

“What’s taking him so long?” Donghyuck finally asked. It was almost ten minutes past when they had agreed to meet up. The question sunk around them. 

“There he is.” Jaemin walked in the restaurant, his hands in his jacket’s pockets and his hood up.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” he said, “The walk back was longer than I expected.”

“It’s alright,” Mark said, “We’re glad you’re okay. How much did you get?” Jaemin reached into his jacket and tossed a number of wallets across the table. He sighed as he slid into the booth and ran his fingers through his hair, letting his hood fall.

“I took a lot, but I glanced at them coming back and there’s not a lot of cash in any. And I’m pretty sure at least one person saw me.” Donghyuck and Jeno sorted the contents of the wallets into piles of cash and cards as they listened. Renjun took wads of cash into his hands and started to count the bills and coins. Though they had all gone to school long enough to know basic math, he was indisputably the best with numbers. Mark looked at Jaemin in alarm.

“They saw you? You got caught?”

“Well, no. They didn’t see my face because I had my hood up. And I ran away before they called the police.” Jaemin put his hood back up as he spoke. Mark relaxed.

“Then it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” He patted Jaemin on the shoulder, giving him a small smile. Renjun cleared his throat.

“Right.” Mark pulled his hand back and looked at the roll of money Renjun held. “So, what’s the situation?”

“It’s pretty serious. Together, we actually stole a lot less money than usual. This is less than three weeks’ worth of cash. Unless we use the cards, which we shouldn’t, we’re not going to be able to eat a meal a day.” 

“What’s wrong with that?” Jaemin asked, “We’re always lying around at home, anyways. We could probably handle eating less.” 

“Or we can just pay less when we’re shopping at the convenience store,” Jeno said, “That part-time lady would let us. One time she saw me put sandwiches in my shirt, but she just nodded and let me leave with them.” Mark shook his head.

“She’d get fired, and then we’d be worse off. And we shouldn’t starve ourselves, or we won’t have enough energy to go stealing next month.”

“Then what should we do?”

“...Why don’t we try again in two weeks? We can eat normally for now, and then go out and steal enough to last us two more weeks, and then it’s a new month.”

“Hyung, are you sure that’ll be okay?” Donghyuck asked. “Even Jaemin had a hard time today. _Jaemin_! We have to be careful.”

“And how do you know we won’t be in this same position next month?” Renjun added. Mark frowned.

“I don’t. So what? We can steal every two weeks if we have to.” 

“Or Chenle and Jisung could try to make themselves useful,” Jeno said, stretching his arms across the table. They all laughed.

“What, do you want them to try stealing again? They’re not even cute anymore, nobody’s going to forgive them,” Renjun said, smiling.

“They’re still cute,” Jaemin said.

“You wouldn’t think so if you caught Jisung’s spider hands in your bag.”

“In all seriousness though, I admit it’s riskier for us to be stealing every two weeks,” Mark said. “We should find a backup plan.” 

“Why don’t we discuss this over dinner? I have the phone, I’ll call them.” Donghyuck suggested. 

“Good idea. I’m hungry,” said Renjun.

“I know. We always are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again, lovelies~ ❤ how is everyone doing?  
> i'm so excited for the reload comeback ~^o^~  
> let's support our idols together!


	3. Chapter 3

Chenle and Jisung soon joined the rest of NCT Dream in the little restaurant, which now had a considerable number of customers. Here, the seven friends shared the events of their day in almost excessive detail. Somewhere in the kitchens, an employee complained about a group of boys that had been in the building for hours without ordering anything.

Chenle looked at his fellow members, incredulous. “So what you’re saying is, Jisung and I have to help you guys steal? Are you sure? Me and him?” He pointed at Jisung, who seemed slightly ruffled by the implications of Chenle’s tone but offered no argument. Jeno patted his head.

“Of course not,” Renjun laughed, “but at this rate, we’re not stealing enough to last a month. It would be nice if you guys figured out a way to help out, just in case this slump lasts.”

“How can we help?” Jisung asked.

“That’s what I  _ just  _ told you to figure out yourself.” 

“It’s just something to think about,” Mark said, “We’ll probably steal enough money next time, and you won’t have to do anything. This is only a back-up plan, afterall.”

“I don’t know if a legit backup plan even exists. There aren’t a lot of ways to earn money that don’t involve stealing or getting a job,” Chenle said. “Or begging.”

“That’s not funny. There’s plenty of ways, like….”

He trailed off, leaving the seven boys thinking hard to come up with an idea. Chenle was right. There weren’t many ways that he and Jisung could earn money in a relatively stable fashion. They couldn’t get a job because they were minors with no familial support, and they didn’t want a job, anyways. Stealing like the rest of NCT Dream was obviously out of the question, due to the two boys’ clumsy hands. What else could they do? Begging? Busking? Mark rubbed the back of his neck. There might not even be a way.  _ If there was,  _ he thought,  _ everyone would already be doing it.  _

Jeno was the one who finally spoke up, cutting through Mark’s hopeless thoughts. “What about catfishing?” The friends looked at him with varying expressions, some of epiphany, others of doubt.

Donghyuck tilted his head. “What, like pretending they’re girls?” Jeno nodded. Jisung leaned back, grinning. He pointed at nobody in particular.

“I think it’s a good idea! Chenle and I can talk to a rich guy, no, maybe a bunch of rich guys, and then they could send us money. We wouldn’t even have to leave the house.”

“I don’t like it,” Jaemin said, “It seems kind of… I don’t know, dirty? Even compared to stealing.”

“ _ I _ like it,” Chenle said simply. 

“I’d support it,” said Renjun, “but how are you planning on ever getting the money? Are you gonna really go on dates with these men?” Chenle, Jisung, and Jeno looked at each other. 

“Maybe we could get a money app like Venmo and ask them to send money with that?” Chenle suggested.

Renjun hummed, deep in thought. “Okay, well, what are you gonna do if they ask for pictures? Or videos? Or worse, if they want to call?”

“We could take filtered photos of ourselves,” Jisung folded a straw wrapper. “or just take some photos from Google.”

“Pretty sure that’s identity theft,” said Donghyuck.

“Catfishing...I don’t like it at all.”

“What about the calls?” Renjun pressed.

Jisung frowned, getting exasperated. “It’s just an idea, hyung. We can work out details later.”

“Yeah, we don’t need a complete plan at the moment,” Mark intervened, “I agree with Jaemin, I’m not a fan of this idea, but its problems don't matter right now. Like I said before, this is only a backup plan, in case the stealing slump lasts, and it probably won’t. We can talk about it again if it does.” They were silent.

“I’m gonna go order food,” Jeno said, standing up. Renjun smiled, Jaemin laughed, and a flow of casual conversation returned to the group. The issue of catfishing was forgotten, now replaced by a discussion of the plot points of the new movie they had pirated. When Jeno came back to the table, he jumped into the discussion with no issue, like they always could with each other.

They fiddled with the plastic lids of their cups as they waited for their food. Mark raised his in a manner suggesting a toast. The others raised their own styrofoam cups without question.

“To a good life,” Mark said, eyes on the seven raised hands.

“To money,” Donghyuck responded, smiling. They laughed.

“To money.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello~~  
> unfortunately i've gotten a bit tired of writing, so i'll most likely be taking a few more weeks off to get my inspiration back...  
> sorry for the wait, and thank you for reading


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